Technical Guide Technical Guide
Introduction This “Technical Guide” details the principal techniques used to create two of the more technically advanced photographs in the D800/D800E catalog. Enjoy this opportunity to admire the skills of professional photographers who have mastered the D800/D800E. While its high pixel count of 36 megapixels gives the D800/ D800E resolution unrivalled by previous digital SLR cameras, a side effect is that bokeh and blur are made that much more obvious.
Shooting Techniques Static Subjects —Keeping Blur to a Minimum— 1
Shooting Techniques At the high resolutions offered by the D800/D800E, even the slightest camera motion can result in blur. The technique revealed in this section minimizes blur through a combination of live view photography and a tripod. Technical Data ■ Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED ■ Exposure mode: Manual ■ Shutter speed: 1 s ■ Aperture: f/8 ■ White balance: Choose color temp.
Shooting Techniques Static Subjects Lesson 2: Use Live View Live view can be used to improve focus and prevent blur. Live View Photography Rotate the live view selector to C and press a to raise the mirror and display the view through the lens in the monitor. Live view selector a button Why Use Live View? 1. The mirror is raised prior to shooting, reducing blur. At the high resolutions offered by the D800/D800E, even the slap of the mirror can sometimes be enough to blur photographs.
Shooting Techniques Why Use Live View? 2. You can focus anywhere in the frame. In live view, you can use the multi selector to position the focus point anywhere in the frame, regardless of the options selected for AF/MF and autofocus. The ability to position the focus point anywhere in the monitor’s angle of view greatly increases the range of locations on which the camera can focus. Static Subjects Why Use Live View? 3. You can zoom in for precise focus.
Shooting Techniques Suggested Settings White balance > Choose color temp.: White balance can be adjusted in steps as small as 10 K. To adjust white balance on the amber (A) – blue (B) axis, hold the U button and press 4 or 2 to highlight a digit and 1 or 3 to change. Framing guide: Using the R button, you can display a framing guide that helps compose photographs during live view.
Shooting Techniques Camera Control Pro 2 Optional Camera Control Pro 2 software can be used to access most camera functions from a computer. To use Camera Control Pro 2, start the computer and connect the camera using the supplied USB cable as shown below. Static Subjects Same Shot, No Live View Live view photography was not used in creating the second example below; consequently, the mirror was not raised until the photo was taken and the results are blurred.
Shooting Techniques Portrait Subjects —Focusing on a Selected Point— 7
Shooting Techniques Use this method for sharp focus on selected points when framing portraits in the viewfinder. Technical Data ■ Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II ■ Exposure mode: Manual ■ Shutter speed: ½00 s ■ Aperture: f/4.5 ■ White balance: Auto 2 ■ ISO sensitivity: 640 ■ Picture control: Portrait Note: This photo was shot in 14-bit NEF (RAW) and processed using Capture NX 2.
Shooting Techniques Lesson 2: Choose the Right Exposure Settings Aperture Choose a wide aperture for a softer feel. Set aperture to f/4 or so to capture facial contours. Portrait Subjects Shutter Speed Choose a speed a bit faster than the limit for camera blur. The superior resolution of the D800/D800E makes small amounts of focus blur more obvious. Select a shutter speed slightly faster than you would choose when photographing the same subject with other cameras.
Shooting Techniques Light Level and ISO Sensitivity Adjust lighting and ISO sensitivity appropriately. After choosing both shutter speed and aperture manually, you may need adjust lighting or ISO sensitivity. Portrait Subjects Learning from Failure: Same Shot, Different Focus With the D800/D800E, you will notice that photos seem to have less depth of field than pictures shot with other cameras under the same conditions, and that focus consequently requires more attention.
Quick Tips 1. High ISO Sensitivity The following sections introduce useful techniques and camera options applicable to a variety of situations. The D800/D800E keeps noise to a minimum for high-resolution results at even the highest ISO sensitivities. The High ISO NR option in the shooting menu reduces the randomly-spaced bright pixels, fog, and lines characteristic of highsensitivity noise, but may leave edges less sharp.
Quick Tips 2. Auto ISO Sensitivity Control Auto ISO sensitivity control automatically adjusts ISO sensitivity if optimal exposure can not be achieved at the value selected by the photographer. If Auto is selected for Minimum shutter speed, the camera will also adjust the threshold for auto ISO sensitivity control according to the focal length of the lens (CPU lenses only), a feature you will find particularly convenient when using zoom lenses (see sample photos at right).
Quick Tips 3. Improving Optical Performance Stopping aperture down increases depth of field, making the foreground and background sharper. Stop aperture down too far, however, and diffraction will actually cause the image to lose definition. The effects of diffraction are partly influenced by the size of the pixels in the camera image sensor, but with the D800/D800E’s high resolution the effects generally become noticeable around f/11.
Quick Tips 4. Backlit Portraits With its 91K (about 91,000) pixel RGB sensor, the D800/D800E offers improved face detection. Used with the viewfinder in modes other than h, it can balance exposure between portrait subjects and the background even when the subject is backlit.
The D800E 1. High Resolution Images with the D800E The D800E is a good choice when you need high-resolution photos of visually complex subjects. Case 1: A Subject in Traditional Dress Case 2: A Japanese Garden Capture tiles and other fine details in high resolution. Preserve fine patterns in your subject’s hair and clothing. Case 3: Leaves Capture individual leaves in crisp detail.
The D800E 2. Adjusting Aperture for Visually Complex Subjects With cameras like the D800E, which are suited to visually complex subjects, it is important to get as much sharpness from the lens as possible. Contrast at the periphery of the image can generally be increased by choosing an aperture two or three stops from the maximum, although results will vary from lens to lens. Below are some of the lenses you can use for enhanced sharpness: • AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED • AF-S NIKKOR 24–70 mm f/2.
The D800E 3. Color Artifacts and Moiré Color artifacts and moiré are less frequent at the high resolutions supported by the D800/D800E, but when they do occur, they tend to be more noticeable in photos taken with D800E. Artifacts and moiré are not visible in the camera monitor but can be viewed by copying photos to a computer and viewing them at 100% zoom.
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